Monday, Mar. 01, 2010

Bulldogs advance again

Southeast Raleigh came into its third-round game against E.E. Smith knowing that it would have to play solid, fundamental team basketball to have a chance to advance to the 4-A regional semifinals for a second year in a row.

In front of a raucous crowd, the Bulldogs shocked the Golden Bulls 52-46 in a heated contest, which ended E.E. Smith's 21-game winning streak and moved the Bulldogs into Thursday night's regional competition at Greenville Rose High School.

The Bulldogs (23-4) trailed for the first two-and-a-half quarters before freshman Kaleisha Moore rattled home her second three-pointer of the period to put the Bulldogs out in front 30-29.

Avae' Hardy hit two free throws with 4:23 to go in the fourth quarter to reclaim the lead for the Bulls.

The two evenly matched teams then traded baskets until Southeast's Brittany Holloway drove into the lane and found Aprill McRae open down low for a layup and a one-point lead with under three minutes to play.

The Bulldog defense would then step up to hold off the Bulls (23-2), forcing tough shots and turnovers the rest of the way.

Southeast hit its free throws down the stretch (seven of eight in the fourth quarter) to preserve the tough road victory.

To knock off the champions of the Mid-South Conference, Southeast knew that it would have to withstand the pressure of E.E. Smith's full-court press. Fortunately for the Bulldogs, they had two point guards to steady the ship.

After starting point guard Demesha Peebles suffered an injury that sidelined her for several games in the middle of conference play, senior Brittany Holloway was forced to move over from the shooting guard position to play the point.

Out of misfortune often sprouts opportunity, and Holloway grew into the role of leading the Bulldog offense from a different point of view.

"I think with Demesha having the injury midway through conference season, that gave Brittany the chance to step up and be comfortable with the ball in her hand," said Southeast coach Nicole Myers.

"She really stepped up as a senior guard tonight."

Holloway's newfound comfort being a primary ball handler proved to be pivotal to the Bulldogs' success as Holloway and Peebles did not wilt under the intense defensive pressure applied by the Golden Bulls, minimizing easy transition baskets for the Bulls -- a hallmark of E.E. Smith's success this season.

The Bulldogs held E.E. Smith to 20 points below its season scoring average.

"We knew once we were going to face E.E. Smith, we were going to face a mirror image of ourselves: just as athletic, just as physical and just as fast," Myers said. "We just said it's going to be the smarter team that plays harder and more together that's going to win.

"And I think we had that."

Holloway led her team with 15 points.

McRae had a monster game despite being double-teamed every time she touched the ball. She finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Peebles added 10.

E.E Smith's only prior loss of the season came on Dec. 4 when they fell to 3-A school Spring Lake Overhills, 58-56.

Southeast lost to Durham Hillside in the regional semifinals last season.